The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Forty-Two: Fighting Blind

KAYA TI AREEKO

"On your right."

As Ahsoka's voice cut through the still air of the largest cargo bay in the White Saber, Kaya Ti brought her lightsabers to bear and reached out with her senses.

Kaya knew her Master was somewhere nearby, circling around her; but her exact location eluded her. The shrewd Togruta had taken off her boots and put a blindfold over Kaya's eyes, forcing her to rely on senses other than sight.

The Force whispered to Kaya what to do as Ahsoka made her move. She spun gracefully to the side just in time to avoid Ahsoka's blades swinging down on her, not from the right as she had said, but from the left. It was a dirty trick, but with a Master like Ahsoka, who so relished in the unorthodox, Kaya Ti had learned to stay on her toes and always expect the unexpected.

"Nice try," Kaya called, but the smirk on her face turned to a grimace as Ahsoka's sabers pushed against hers, forcing her back.

Now that Kaya Ti had a fix on her location, fighting her was becoming easier; a little more natural. She was falling into a rhythm, matching blow with blow and feint with feint. The fight felt almost like a chaotic dance to which they both instinctively knew the steps.

But, as she remembered belatedly, in a fight, there was sometimes danger in routine.

Ahsoka's blade arced out suddenly, and the Force came to Kaya Ti almost too late to give her time to throw her upper body back and out of the way. But she realized then, as the deadly weapon whizzed over her head, that she had fallen into a trap – at that angle, she would be too slow getting back into a ready position, and had thus opened herself up for an attack.

And an attack there came, in the form of a vicious kick to her legs. Kaya was sent sprawling to the floor, and while she couldn't see it, she could feel the heat of Ahsoka's lightsaber just above her throat, and hear the high-pitched whine of the snow-white plasma ringing in her ears.

But Kaya wasn't defeated yet. Rolling to one side to ensure that her face and torso stayed guarded, she batted the blade away. Then, she summoned the Force and redirected it outwards, sending Ahsoka flying across the room. Dousing her blades, Kaya pulled herself up onto her hands and flipped herself back to her feet.

"Good," Ahsoka called from nearby, and Kaya Ti took pride in the slight faintness of breath she heard in her Master's voice. "But quick reflexes won't save you against an opponent with superior skill... nor one with superior numbers."

Suddenly, the familiar whirring of training spheres filled the air. Kaya Ti listened intently for a moment, And by the sounds of it, Ahsoka had activated all fifteen of them.

Before Kaya Ti could even think of a counterattack, Ahsoka dove forward, twisting one of Kaya's lightsabers and then the other out of her hands. Then she darted back, leaving Kaya Ti at the mercy of the droids.

"Hey, no fair!" Kaya yelped. "I'm weaponless!"

"There's no such thing as a fair fight when you're up against the Empire," Ahsoka said. "Inquisitors will call in anywhere from two to five squadrons to reinforce them, even if they don't need them – so you'll be dealing with keeping blaster fire as well as at least one double-bladed lightsaber off your back."

Ahsoka lunged after her again, swatting at her with her lightsabers. "And you're not weaponless. No Jedi ever is. Now form a shield! Defend yourself!"